DeSmogBlog a Proud CPRS Award Winner

DeSmogBlog a Proud CPRS Award Winner

We are proud to announce that the Canadian Public Relations Society has chosen my firm, James Hoggan & Associates and the DeSmogBlog to receive an award for demonstrating “the highest ethical and professional standardswhile performing outstanding work.”

Given the risks involved in launching the DeSmogBlog, this is incredibly gratifying. This project is fundamentally a long and loud criticism of bad public relations. We have tried, for the last two years, to call attention to the unsavory public relations intervention in the global warming debate. And DeSmogBlog readers will know that we have pulled no punches in naming names and identifying PR tactics that are questionable in and of themselves or are being used in a questionable way.

A few people in the public relations business took this criticism personally. But we have been overwhelmed - and delighted - to find that most of our PR colleagues were as angry and frustrated as we are about the misuse of public relations skills to defend indefensible positions.

In the CPRSnews release, Ange Frymire, Chair of the British Columbia CPRS Awards Committee, said theawards - the first to be bestowed in B.C. - were established to make professionals and the general public aware of the high-quality work being produced by BC's public relations practitioners. “These awards help to promote public understanding of the kind of work that our public relations sector is doing to serve the public interest,” Frymire said.

We are honoured to have been recognized and reassured by the courageous and principled reaction that our professional colleagues have shown in presenting this award. It does, indeed, speak to a level of ethical evidence of which the CPRS should be proud.

So, my thanks to the committee, and thanks to the DeSmogBlog team (especially Richard Littlemore and Kevin Grandia) and to Hoggan account executive Erin Gawne who prepared our submission. Thanks especially to my friend and DeSmogBlog co-founder and patron, John Lefebvre, without whose support the blog and all of our related work would never have been possible.

Previous Comments

You folks have been doing an invaluable job, and I am a daily visitor – the first thing I look at after pouring my first cup of coffee every morning.

There have been numerous posts on this blog from people who have no respect for PR done well. Ignore them. The fact that you’ve got under the skin of this gang is a sure sign you are doing something right.

One of the most important things that I find here is the information I need to track information, to follow the money, and to follow the science. From this site I found Real Climate, Deltoid, Grist, and a score of other sites listed in my “Favourites” under “Environment”.

Most importantly, DeSmog promotes critical thought. Keep up the good work.

Jim and team, congratulations once again on being named the winner of the debut 2007 PR Communications Leadership Awards for your excellent submission on the DeSmogBlog campaign.

We were delighted to present the award to your group in person on December 17, 2007 at the CPRS Christas celebration in Vancouver.

You are an example of the high calibre of work produced by PR professionals working in this field. We look forward to your continued contributions in PR and wish you a healthy, happy and hearty holiday season.

Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.

There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.